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Originally Posted by ajithfederer
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:cool:Quote:
Originally Posted by ajithfederer
Eventhough at the outset it doesn't look that way, he has played only very few matches post 2008 to come to a conclusion.
Quote:
Originally Posted by littlemaster1982
And yes he does appear very relaxed when batting.
Thanks maams! :)Quote:
Originally Posted by ajithfederer
He and Ambrose are simply astonishing , I love them!
Tendulkar — the free spirit he’s meant to be
S. Ram Mahesh
There’s an undeniable lightness to his game these days
AUCKLAND: Although Sachin Tendulkar has denied he’s batting more freely after the pressure of having to become Test cricket’s highest run-getter had lifted, there’s an undeniable lightness to his game these days.
Anil Kumble, never one to dispense opinion without considered, intelligent thought, was on to something when he said during a felicitation ceremony in Nagpur late last year that through his glittering career he had carried the pressure of proving people wrong whereas Tendulkar had the burden of continuously proving people right.
At times in 2005, 2006, and 2007, Tendulkar’s batting appeared careworn. While the brilliant, intuitive style of play that had characterised the first decade and a half of his career — particularly the 90s — wasn’t beyond him, it showed up less frequently.
Exactly why this happened will never be pinned down; but injury doubtless played a part — not just in retarding physical skill for a period, but also in sowing doubts in the mind.
Defining period
The tour of England in 2007 was, to several experts, a defining period. Tendulkar stripped his batting down: the tuck behind square on the leg-side, which was a stroke of considerable cheek in his early days — for he turned balls from well outside the off-stump with a cat-quick jump across — became a staple for scoring.
He didn’t hook or pull the short deliveries, choosing to wear them on the body instead. But he contributed to the series win, India’s first in England since 1986, and the experts said Tendulkar had found his role in his batting middle age.
No more a dominant, attacking player, he was now the canny, experienced past master — capable of succeeding against the best in the world, but not on his terms. The trouble with slotting genius so it can be easily understood is that it promptly slips out. In Australia, where he is revered as the greatest since the Don, even though Ricky Ponting offers them a bristling counterpoint, Tendulkar batted with a beautiful spontaneity.
Glorious affairs
The centuries in Sydney and Adelaide were glorious affairs, but at Perth, against the pace of Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson, and Shaun Tait, he appeared to have all the time in the world to dictate terms.
All his runs in Australia came in the first innings, however. Although criticism that the pressure of the situation got to him is both crass and simplistic, there is something in the theory that the batting achieved its unsurpassed natural state when context and circumstance didn’t intrude greatly — or when he was forced into pure reaction, as is the case against high pace.
The failure in Sri Lanka strengthened the theory, for he, along with Gautam Gambhir, appeared the only two batsmen to decipher Ajantha Mendis from his release; despite that there was undue tentativeness, perhaps because in playing spin there’s always time for the mind to play its tricks.
With the middle-order failing collectively, questions about the future of these great men grew strident. The home series against Australia late last year (which was when Kumble made his observation) was, in many ways, a clarifying period.
Tendulkar batted securely with V.V.S. Laxman to ensure the first Test at Bangalore was drawn. He went past Brian Lara’s record in the second Test at Mohali, which India won. His century in the fourth Test at Nagpur helped India take the series, but it was the 47 on the fifth day in the third Test at Delhi that suggested that the weight of proving people right had lifted.
Slaying the demons
Tendulkar counter-attacked marvellously during a 21-ball period when Australia had the faintest of sniffs. The storied, scarcely believable match-winning second-innings century against England at Chennai followed — with it Tendulkar slayed the demon that had long dogged him.
His 160 in the first Test against New Zealand at Hamilton was merely the most recent evidence that his last years in the game — and one hopes there are several — could well be his best and most fulfilling.
Tendulkar is finally part of an Indian side that wins consistently both home and away. And unlike what seemed certain after the tour of England in 2007, he isn’t a hard-nosed craftsman grinding his runs, but the free spirit he’s meant to be.
Little wonder that M.S. Dhoni, asked if he’d like Tendulkar around for the duration of his captaincy, said, “It can’t get better than that.”
http://www.hindu.com/2009/03/24/stor...2452701900.htm
World Test 11: Throw Your Hat in the Ring Pt 4
Well we have got a job here.
Yes, the job to find our own world Test team and after begging and pleading to Long I have got the job to do the No.4 batsmen in the team. The No.3 turned out to be Rahul Dravid
This one's for you Long John!
Well I think everyone will agree that there is only one person who can come first while I am compiling the list.
It is Sachin Tendulkar. I don't have to say very much about him.
But still I will repeat what has been repeated many times. This man is a genius and has been playing cricket for 18 years. When on song he is as deadly as anyone. This is proved by his recent 160 against the Kiwis.
He holds the record for the highest no. of runs and most centuries in the game. What is another character about his is he is unfazed by batsmen-bowler talks. He is just there to do one thing and that is scoring. He is also a very hard worker and that is something I consider very important.
Another thing about Tendulkar is that he can change his game according to the situation. There is enough proof for that. His top class knocks were his first hundred when he saved the match for India at the age of 16 in England, then another brilliant one was in 1998 against the Aussies when he scored a hundred on a mine field.
His almost match winning knock against Pakistan in 1999 was another. The of course the 242* at Sydney and recently his 103 at Chennai against the English are only a some of his may gems. If you have this fellow in the team the captain can also get good ideas from that heck of a brain of his. Ave- almost 55
The second choice would be Inzy or Inzamam-Ul-Haq. This fellow was what many call a sleeping giant. But if he was sleeping and making so many runs I don't want to think what he would have done when he was awake. He also has a triple to his name.
Author Poll
This man was not someone anybody wanted to bowl to as he could find gaps around the field and play some elegant drives and also smash you out of the park. He along was also one of the mainstays and sometimes the one ranger in the Pakistan batting. He definitely someone to choose. Ave. just below 50.
The next one is a Waughie, the fellow who replaced his brother in the Australian team. He was considered by many as better than his brother. I will not get into that but he was definitely more elegant than most players ever seen. He made a fantastic 138 on debut as well. He was at times a murderer of any bowling attack. He was efficient with the cut, pull, loft, drive or in other words everything. This guy is absolutely remarkable. Ave. 41.
The next one on the list would be KP. Kevin Pietersen is an absolute star in all senses of the word. He is not a natural stroke maker like the other three, but he can manufacture all kinds of strokes. His switch hit (when he changes his grip to a left handers) is remarkable. This man has also got a single minded approach towards batting which can be very useful. It allows him to hit the ball around the park when others around him are struggling. Out of the guys I have and will mention, he is THE most aggressive. Ave. 50.
The next felon is another Aussie. This time it is Damien Martyn. Well he was one of the most crucial members of the team. He was also an attacking player. After a start stop career, he cemented his spot pretty well. Another ability of his was to work on his batting flaws and eradicate them pretty well.
He also had a habit of coming back in form with absolute biggies. This man was a mix between a natural stroker and a manufacturer. I remember one of his centuries in 2006 in South Africa was an absolute beauty to watch. Ave. 46
Now the last one on the list. This is Mahela Jaywardene. You could really see his talent flourish after he became captain but before that as well he was one of the main guys of the Lankan line up. Who can forget his brilliant 374 against the Proteas on Galle. Who can forget his fine century against the Aussies in 2007 even though SL lost the Test.
Who can forget many of his master classes against India and Pakistan. This man also is a good captain and may be very useful to the side as a captain or even as a senior player helping the captain. Under him Muralitharan also became a much better bowler. That speaks for itself. Ave.52
My choice: It has to be Sachin or Pietersen. Sachin on the basis of his current form. KP as he is the youngest of all and also the most attacking. He can be a long term option.
In the end I would also like to say that No.4 is often not talked about as an important position. I do not know why. But let me tell you, this is a position of a proper batsmen and has to handle almost the same kind of pressure as a No.3
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1...n-the-ring-pt4
A old article from Times, but definitely worth reading. The closing lines are too good 8-)
Quote:
Cricket's greatest ever player, Sir Donald Bradman, was watching a 1996 World Cup match on television when he first saw Sachin Tendulkar bat. The Indian player's technique seemed strangely familiar. Though his stance and his movements were compact and efficient, he hit the ball hard and his shots were ruthlessly effective. The Australian called his wife into the living room of their suburban Adelaide home. "Who does this remind you of?" asked Bradman, then 87. The answer was obvious. "I never saw myself play," Bradman said later. "But I feel that this player is playing much the same [way] I used to play."
Being labeled the next Bradman has never been an easy honor. But perhaps no batsman has worn the tag with so much grace�and so deserved it�as Tendulkar. West Indian captain Brian Lara, the only contemporary of Tendulkar's to consistently threaten his position as the batsman of the age, told the Times of India last month that the Indian was the greatest he had ever seen. "You know genius when you see it," said Lara. "And let me tell you, Sachin is pure genius."
When he's in form, which is often, Tendulkar can rout the world's best bowlers with ease. Just ask Australian leg-spinning great Shane Warne, who once joked that he had nightmares about bowling to Tendulkar. India's "Little Master" has scored a record 75 centuries in test and one-day internationals and helped revolutionize the speed at which runs are made. But statistics only hint at Tendulkar's greatness. It's the way he scores all those runs that is the most thrilling thing about his game. Tendulkar waits for the bowler's delivery like a martial arts black belt ready to parry an opponent�moving quickly into position, flashing his bat to guide the ball where he will. It's a rare combination of textbook classicism and the inventive violence of modern one-day cricket.
Tendulkar isn't perfect, of course. Critics have long argued that he seems to play for the record books first and his team second�rarely rescuing his comrades when they're in trouble in the way other batting greats such as Lara or Australia's Steve Waugh have done. In the past couple of years, Tendulkar also seems to have lost some of the aggression and daring that made Bradman sit up in front of the TV. In January, he was booed off his home ground after scoring just one run off 21 balls. Perhaps the years and the injuries are catching up.
But his success to date means that Tendulkar could leave the field tomorrow without any diminution of circumstances. The middle-class boy from Bombay gets paid millions of dollars to appear in television commercials and on billboards selling everything from luxury cars to credit cards, soft drinks to shoes. Reserved and modest, he also appears to carry his fame�and the expectations of a billion people�quite well. A few years ago, Australian player Matthew Hayden wrote that Tendulkar was like a god in India. Tendulkar responded with typical humility. "I do not think anyone can become God," he said. "I am a normal person who plays cricket." And yet sometimes, when Tendulkar has the measure of every ball and is smacking them cleanly through panicking fielders, it's hard not to see the divine spark at work.
http://www.ptinews.com/pti%5Cptisite...8?OpenDocument
These are exciting times for Indian cricket: Tendulkar
Joseph Hoover
Auckland, Mar 24 (PTI) Sachin Tendulkar is relishing the success of the Indian cricket team and admits that in his 20-years association with the game, the time has never been as exciting as it has been in the last three-four years.
The master batsman, who has 85 international hundreds - 42 in Tests and 43 in ODIs - said team's victory in New Zealand was indeed satisfying.
"It is good for Rahul (Dravid) and myself to be part of a winning team here. We've been here on earlier tours, but it wasn't so good. But it is better late than never.
"It is exciting time for Indian cricket. It has been quite satisfying. The Test victory is very special. We have been able to achieve that in the last few years wherever we have travelled. I am glad that we made it possible here as well," said Tendulkar, who had a strenuous net session at the Eden Park.
Tendulkar attributed team's heady performance to its all-round capability.
"It has been all-round performance that has seen us do consistently well. We just needed a break and that break I thought we got in Zimbabwe (2001) which came after a long time," he said. More PTI
http://www.cricketnirvana.com/news/i...90324-565.html
It's now or never for Sachin
Chandresh NarayananTuesday, March 24, 2009 3:04:19 PM
Auckland: It seems like yesterday that Sachin Tendulkar made his first trip to New Zealand. But that was way back in 1989-90.
The tour is fresh in most minds, not least of all because of history attached with the tour.
Sachin Tendulkar © AFP
Sir Richard Hadlee got his 400th Test scalp, Tendulkar was wowing the crowd with his talent. The tour had everything.
Then as a 16-year-old Tendulkar got oh so close at McLean Park in Napier to become the youngest batsman to score a Test hundred. He fell agonisingly close to the three figure mark. History would have been created that day in 1990, but it was not to be.
But now comes the big chance for Tendulkar correct that part of history that has slipped away. He has the big chance of playing a part in India's first Test series win in New Zealand for 41 years.
The chance is now or never. India are already 1-0 up and Tendulkar can draw on the missed opportunities of his first tour here to settle all scores at McLean Park.
The series win here will be the last in a series of achievements for the team of this decade.And Tendulkar is only to keen to be able to play a part.
He batted at the nets on Tuesday for longest period of time to ensure that his finger has healed enough after that injury from fielding at first slip in the first Test. His palms were hurting at times, but he decided to weather the storm. He battled the spinners and then took on the quicks with aplomb.
He was willing to battle through pain and in the end looked pleased that he was able to break the threshold barrier.
At the end of it all, the bandage on his injured finger was taken off and he was smiling from end to end at another opportunity to win a series abroad. In his own words things changed for India's Test team in 2001 when they toured Zimbabwe.
''We won a Test in Zimbabwe in 2001, then in West Indies, England, Australia, South Africa and now finally here. We have managed to win abroad everytime now,'' said Tendulkar.
In the last few years India have posted series victories in West Indies, England, but New Zealand have always got away. And it has been the case everytime since India toured here since Tendulkar's first time out in 1989-90.
Then Tendulkar missed out on a personal milestone at McLean Park, can he better that with a team effort in 2009.
Wait and watch.